The Associated Press reports that Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry has vetoed two of the four abortion bills recently passed by the state legislature: One measure would have required women to undergo an intrusive ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before getting abortions. Henry said Friday that legislation is flawed because it…
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Court Orders Hospital to Provide Patient Records
Tim Hull reports: Federal law gives an Indiana agency that advocates for the mentally ill access to its client’s hospital records, the 7th circuit ruled. The Chicago-based court of appeals, sitting en banc, found that a hospital must give Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services access to patient records under the federal Protection and Advocacy for…
Knesset OKs change to privacy law for subsidization of meds for survivors
The Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Monday approved an amendment to the Protection of Privacy Law meant to ease the subsidization of medication for Holocaust survivors. The amendment enables the survivors’ names to be transferred to HMOs without compromising their privacy. Read more on Ynetnews.com.
The Havasupai Indians, Genetic Research and the Problem of Informed Consent
Over on Concurring Opinions, Gaia Bernstein discusses the Havasupai case discussed here previously in several posts, and makes the following statement: No doubt, the Havasupai Indians informed consent argument resulted in their victorious settlement. But, the harder question is whether informed consent principle can be feasibly applied in the area of genetics. Genetic information is…
Report: Data breaches, patient identity thefts still a threat despite new laws
From CMIO: Despite new regulations in the HITECH Act, data breaches and medical identity theft remains at critical levels throughout hospitals in the U.S., where 83.6 percent of providers have data breaches every year, according to a report from identity theft prevention contractor Identity Force. The Framingham, Mass.-based Identity Force surveyed 220 compliance executives from…
Ca: Commissioner raps health minister for attack on privacy
Andrew MacLeod reports: Acting information and privacy commissioner Paul Fraser has asked health minister Kevin Falcon to withdraw proposed amendments to health legislation until privacy concerns are fully considered. “I was taken by surprise to discover these very significant amendments in a miscellaneous bill,” said Fraser in an April 22 letter. Bill 11, the 2010:…